Not Real
by MountainAir
Summary: "Seeing Katniss like this ignites something in me - something I hadn't felt since the arena of the Quarter Quell. Strong, overpowering protectiveness. Love, and complete torment for her pain." The parachute scene from Peeta's POV.


**I haven't decided yet if I'm going to turn this into a two-shot, but for now, it's a one-shot. Hope you guys like it, and don't forget to review!**

**...**

I keep my eyes locked on the red jacket, the jacket that is easy not to lose because of its brightness. I'm lucky that they've given her this one, because otherwise it wouldn't be as easy to keep my eye on her. She runs through the crowd, and I strain my eyes to try and see what it is she's going for.

Her strides pick up their pace as she sprints towards something - or someone - in the distance. Her hood is flown backwards, and a long black braid is revealed.

"No," I whisper. People would know that braid anywhere; it's as famous as the girl who wears it.

My heartbeat quickens as I hear the voices floating through the crowd, getting louder and more enthusiastic by the second.

"Katniss Everdeen!"

"She's here!"

"Look! The Mockingjay!"

But Katniss doesn't care; I'm not even sure she's noticed that her hood is no longer hidding her identity. Her eyes have a wild look to them as she runs faster than I've ever seen her run. Her expression has turned into one of pure panic and fear, and her mouth opens over and over again, screaming something. I can't hear her - this place is too chaotic. There are planes flying overtop of us, and it makes it even more difficult to hear anything.

Suddenly, the bombs start falling. People scream and run for cover, but the Capitol's children aren't so lucky. They're killed instantly; blown to bits by what I can only assume are Gale and Beetee's creations.

A cry escapes my lips, because no one asked for this. These children may be the chidren of our enemies, but they've done nothing wrong. It's their parents and grandparents that have caused horror and cruelty in our districts - not them.

What have they done to us?

They've turned us into monsters, turned us into what we once hated, what this war was _started_ over. Now here we are, killing off their children like they did to ours. Did we learn nothing from all of this?

The second round of bombs go off.

More screams ring out, but I barely hear them. The only scream I hear is from Katniss. It's ripped from her throat in pure terror and pain, and I look back to her to see her fall to the ground in flames.

My heart drops to my stomach, and I'm frozen here, unable to move. Her screams pierce the air over and over again, but the images in my head have frozen my muscles in place.

_Real or not real?_

She's dying. Katniss Everdeen is dying. Finally, she has become the Girl on Fire. This is real.

_Real or not real?_

She deserves this. She deserves to die a slow and painful death, because she is the reason so many people that I love have died. If she hadn't rebelled, if she'd just let the Capitol be, District 12 would still exist. We would be safe, and my family would be alive. She's the monster, not the Capitol. This is...

I squeeze my eyes shut. This is _not_ real.

My muscles are released from their hold, and I sprint over to her as fast as I can with a prosthetic leg. She writhes and screams, engulfed in flames, her face twisted in pure agony. Seeing Katniss like this ignites something in me - things I hadn't felt since the arena of the Quarter Quell. Strong, overpowering protectiveness. Love, and complete torment for her pain.

I don't know what to do. There are no buckets of water that are miraculously going to appear when I need them most, and everyone else is running around frantically, trying to get away from here.

"Katniss!" I yell helplessly. Her screams have changed to whimpers, and her eyes are fluttering shut. "No! Stay with me! Please, please don't leave me."

I'm sobbing now as I hit the fire away with my hands, ignoring the white-hot pain. I can't lose her, not after everything.

Soon, my own hands have caught fire, and it's spreading up my arms at an alarming rate. I yell out for help, feeling hopeless. I'm going to die, and I wasn't able to save her. In the end, I wouldn't have saved her.

The pain increases, and I continue to try and extinguish Katniss' burning body. She is fully unconscious now, unable to feel this horrible pain that I am now feeling. That is what I keep telling myself so that I don't let myself think otherwise. She has to be alive.

Through the pain, I feel something like burning metal against my wrist. I dazedly look down at it, and see my communication watch. I can't believe I forgot about it; it could have saved us both.

Static is coming from it, and it's probably about to die, just like I am.

In my last burst of strength, I bring it to my lips and press the voice clip button with burning fingers. "Help. Please, help. Capitol... square... Katniss..."

My voice starts fading, and I know that I'm dying. Fire has spreaded to my face and hairline, and my arms feel like they've been shreaded to ash. Soon, I will finally be able to escape this unimaginable, never-ending agony. Agony from the fire, and agony of seeing Katniss' unconscious, burning, terrifying body.

My bloody arms flail towards her hopelessly, wishing that I could tell her that I love her before I die.

I know that she's the reason I haven't left this horrible world yet. The guilt I feel for losing her overtakes everything else, and traps me here.

But eventually, she releases me, and I follow her into unconsciousness.

**...**

**This one took me a while to write for some reason. Maybe I was too distracted, or maybe I just had trouble with it. I loved to write it, though, because as much as I hated that Peeta was hijacked, it made for some awesome fanfiction. ;P**

**I love the Real or Not Real thing from Mockingjay, so I decided to use that. Actually, I'll probably end up using it again. It was brilliant.**

**Anywho, REVIEW!**


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